Khmer Rouge
by tosttytilly
Summary: Two NCIS agents are sent out on a dangerous mission to Cambodia. What they experience there well test the boundaries of everything they know. Will they survive? MAYBE TIVA
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters of ncis blah blah blah**_

_Hi there everyone:) this is my first attempt of a fanfic so forgive me if its realllly bad, but you know, you never know until you try haha=P  
btw, i began this story at the beginning of the year on an old account called 'tosty tilly' and it was called 'in the killing fields' or something i don't really remember...but just so there is no confusion, that was my story i just changed accounts cos my family and i went travelling and then i got a new computer so i had to start all over again:( anywaysss...here u go now, hope you like!!!!!_

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Even by airplane standards the toilet was cramped. Tony Dinozzo stood uncomfortably against the plastic walls of the so-called 'bathroom' as he leaned over the steel toilet bowl, looking down at his regurgitated lunch in the water. Standing there, Tony chuckled slightly, careful not to upset his already delicate stomach, as he remembered a similar occasion on a flight with Kate, _stupid Gibbs and his priority flights… dammit FBI, CIA, DEA even Metro have their own private jets,_ he thought.

Mossad Officer, Ziva David, yelled from outside, "Hurry up Tony; we are grounding in 10 minutes!"

"Landing Ziva, landing" Tony couldn't resist; he smirked as he heard Ziva grumble about silly American idioms.

Sighing, Tony flushed his puke down the toilet and turned to fix himself up in the mirror before exiting the cubicle.

Ziva looked up at him from her seat, "Are you okay Tony?"

"I'm fine Zee-vah! Just got priority-flight-itis." Ziva frowned at him. Of course, she would be used to this kind of stuff, in fact, knowing Mossad; Ziva wouldn't be flying any other way.

"Well you were certainly taking your time in the bathroom?"

"Are you suggesting something Miss David?" Tony waggled his eyebrows suggestively, Ziva simply scoffed and turned away.

Tony sat down next to her, buckling himself in just as the pilot's announcement came over the loud speakers.

"Please fasten your seat belts folks; we are beginning our descent into Phnom Penh, Cambodia now. Hope you had a pleasant flight, Thank you!"

"Pleasant flight, meaning we puked up everything we've eaten for the past week and are suffering from serious bruising, then yeah, great flight" Tony said sarcastically as Ziva pulled out the case files and started to skim through them.

_FLASHBACK_

_As Gibbs headed out of MTAC, he looked down into the bullpen and saw his agents, once again, bickering. Their so-called paperwork had fallen victim to that of one Anthony Dinozzo, who was targeting an unsuspecting McGee with spitballs._

_Gibbs jogged down the stairs calling out as he did so, "Dinozzo!" he barked._

_Tony whipped around, a guilty smile playing at the corners of his mouth._

"_Boss? I….We…well McGee here…" Tony was interrupted by a head slap from Gibbs._

"_Won't happen again boss!"_

"_Damn straight it won't, pack your bags Dinozzo" A look of shock flashed across Tony's face._

"_You…you're firing me boss?"_

"_Not yet Dinozzo, MTAC just received Intel from a Marine base stationed just outside of Cambodia's capital. The marines there work with the local communities in helping eliminate the landmines remaining from the civil war. Two days ago at 0730, two marines, Captain's Hodge and Tobin were supposedly killed in an explosion whilst clearing landmines not too far from the base camp. However, after further investigation, and revelations from Autopsy, it was found that the source of the explosion was gunpowder from military issue grenades…not from a landmine going off."_

"_You thinking murder boss, the marines were set up?" asked McGee._

"_That's what Dinozzo's going to find out" Gibbs replied._

"_I'm going to Cambodia boss? This is so cool! Can you imagine all of the single babes that will be there!?!? Tourists as well as locals, the sightseeing will be amaz –" Tony was interrupted by another head slap._

"_Dinozzo, this is strictly business, this is potentially a very dangerous situation here. We could be dealing with guerilla activity or even terrorists here, if so, we need to be pulling you out of there immediately so the corps can deal with it. You are simply there to aid in the investigation... Ziva?" Ziva looked up at Gibbs, "You go with Tony, keep him out of trouble."_

_Tony smiled mischievously at Ziva, "Start packing you fly out tomorrow, you will be briefed when you arrive" Gibbs called out as he headed out to get coffee._

_END FLASHBACK_

As the plane touched down in Cambodia, Tony glanced out his window to find the military issue trucks waiting to collect Ziva and himself. He grimaced slightly as he remembered the mission in Baghdad with Agent Jardine, yep; this was going to be a very long week indeed!

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_kinda short i know, but i promise my chapters will become longer...i hope:) not really sure where this story is heading at the moment..._

_im not sure whether or not to continue, if its total crap plz tell cause then i won't waste my time, pleasseee review, good or bad, it will be welcome...thanx!!!!_


	2. Chapter 2

The military truck picking up Tony and Ziva turned out to be more of a cramped minivan. What with all the rucksacks, military rifles and gear as well as an annoying Dinozzo who managed to keep up a running commentary throughout the entirety of the journey. For Ziva David, there could be no worse torture as she listened to Tony motormouth on about nothing.

After what felt like a seemingly endless journey for Ziva and the rest of the troops – in fact, was only two and a half hours – they arrived at a marine camp situated a little outside a small Cambodian village.

Standing a few meters away from the bus, stood two gruff looking marines and Tony groaned inwardly as he realized these Gibbs-like figures would most probably be waiting for them.

Sure enough, as Tony and Ziva exited the bus the marine reached out his hand to shake theirs' saying as he did, "Agent Dinozzo and Officer David welcome to the base camp. My name is Major Laine and this is Lieutenant James and we will be your guide and supervisor for the remainder of the week."

"I don't think we will be needing your help," snapped Ziva.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Excuse my partner marine, my name is Tony, this is Ziva, and trust me on this one," Tony said leaning in, "she's tougher than she looks…like a physco ex-girlfriend if you catch my drift" Tony chuckled lightly but stopped immediately after spotting the marines face, _tough crowd_, he thought.

"In approximately two hours, we will begin our hike to the landmines; you will find everything you need including tents, rifles, tracking devices, maps and compasses in the camp to our right. I will meet you here at 0940." Said James, before turning on the two agents and leaving with Laine in tow

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Two hours later, Tony and Ziva stood surrounded by bags full of equipment, waiting just outside the base camp perimeter with Major Laine and Lieutenant James.

"So…you gonna tell us where to go yet?" asked Tony impatiently.

Laine glared back at him before looking down at his map and then to his compass. He pointed to a path a little to the left of them, covered with scrubs…not very inviting.

"We need to head down that track for 3 miles before we head north and do a bit of cross-country for approximately 2.8 miles where the terrain will be more difficult and uphill."

"But that's like 6 miles!" gaped Tony before recovering quickly, "But…I mean…like…that's easy right, you being a marine and all and us being federal agents…piece of cake"

Ziva, Laine and James simply glared at him before setting off down the track.

Fortunately for them, the first part of the journey was relatively easy and quite flat. However, this meant that Tony also had enough breath to manage to talk and irritate everyone for the entirety of the trip. Ziva couldn't stand it. She kept looking at her watch with the built in tracking device, as time ticked by one millennium at a time. Tony had been irritating her all day; she was sick and tired of hearing about his sex life or his latest girlfriend/one night stand, I mean, couldn't he just shut up for one minute!?! It was worse here, out in the middle of nowhere yapping on about his stupid movies and delaying everyone. He was so immature!

"Ziva? Ziva! Are you even listening to me???" asked Tony suddenly, taking a break from his analysis of Leonardo DiCaprio in Blood Diamond.

"Argh Tony stop talking! I don't what to hear it and neither does Major Laine or Lieutenant James, so shut your cage!"

"It's shut your _trap_ Zee-vah!" Tony couldn't help himself and before he knew it Ziva was practically screaming at him!

"Stop it Dinozzo! I don't care, you're so juvenile. Why Gibbs put you on this assignment, I don't know, but for the mean time can you try and show a little bit of respect towards everyone else!"

Tony stared at her, his jaw dropped; he glanced at the two marines for support and received none. For the first time since they had left DC, Tony Dinozzo was speechless.

"Thankyou," said Ziva finally, "But this is the last twig tony, I'm warning you!"

"Straw"

"What?"

"The last straw Ziva" Tony replied quietly. Ziva simply glared at him before turning and walking away briskly muttering what was, no doubt, a variety of swear words in Hebrew.

After that, progress was fairly slow. No one uttered a single word, except for the occasional call of direction from the Major; everyone was in a bad mood. It had begun to get dark and it was difficult to see where you were going. Although they had their military issue flashlights, the darkness was overwhelming and the trees above them blocked all light coming in from the moon and stars.

Everyone was sick and tired, including the two marines. Even Tony had quietened down considerably and was looking quite solemn. Every now and then, Ziva stole a quick glance at Dinozzo and begun to fear that she was, perhaps, a little too harsh on the Italian.

After several hours, the trio found that the dense scrub around them was thinning and they realized that they were coming to the edge of the forest. At the tree line, the marine halted, took a quick scan of his surroundings before heading over to a small patch of green and begun to set up camp.

Tony and Ziva remained pissed at each other, only talking if required until finally the job was done. After a quick meal of rice and lentils, the three of them headed to bed (Tony and Ziva in one tent and Major Laine and Lieutenant James in another) and tried to gain as much sleep as possible after their tiring trek to the landmines.

Little did they know, that within the next hour they would be awoken and forced to fight for their lives…

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_Thanks to all those who have added my story to their alerts, it means a lot to me:)_

_So now the story is going to pick up the pace, and the action will start in the next chapter i promise!! please please please review, good or bad, critic or praise, i don't mind just press that little green button...i know you want toooooooo=)_


	3. Chapter 3

Tony tugged his sleeping bag more tightly around him in an effort to warm himself up. _Why did I accept this assignment_ Tony wondered silently as his teeth chattered loudly and shifted uncomfortably over a mound that Tony was beginning to suspect housed termites. Centimeters away from him, Ziva slept dead to the world, her mouth hung open and snoring like a drunken sailor.

A low rumble could be heard from outside the tent and Tony groaned in response, _maybe it's a monsoon, or worse a hungry tiger about to pounce on its unsuspecting pray…us?_ However, the rumble was growing louder as it closed in and Tony began to worry that it was more than just a prowling tiger.

A shot rang out and Ziva snapped awake and a look of terror briefly washed over her face as she turned to face Tony. Tony put a finger to his lips and motioned to go outside. Grabbing their rifles, they stepped cautiously out the tent, looking to their right, the NCIS agents found Major Laine and Lieutenant James already out of their tent and scanning the, so far, deserted surroundings, rifle up at eye level.

The rumble was growing louder and louder and soon voices could be heard. Without any further warning, a huge Jeep Cherokee burst through the clearing, carrying eight men, who came tumbling out almost before the Jeep had stopped.

They were all armed with CZ-Scorpion sub-machine guns or AK-47 assault rifles, some also carried knives. They were dressed in combat outfits, but they didn't look like soldiers. Their hair was too long and they hadn't shaved. Nobody seemed to be in charge. They spread out across the clearing, waving their weapons from side to side and screaming out orders.

"Dinozzo and David do not fire! I repeat do NOT fire!" screamed out Major Laine. Ziva shot him an incredulous look.

"They will kill us!"

"They are Military, Officer David" replied Major Laine over the shouts of the Cambodians, "They are only interested in our business here, nothing more".

Ziva huffed in response, obviously unconvinced, but put down her weapon all the same. Next to her, Tony too put his rifle down reluctantly.

The soldiers took up positions across the clearing so that every angle was covered and nobody could move without being seen. They were still shouting in Cambodian; Tony glanced at Ziva and could see that her mind was working furiously in an attempt to translate the calls and shouts of the soldiers.

Tony, Ziva, James and Laine were made to line up. They were covered by at least half a dozen guns. At the same time, two of the soldiers were searching in their tents, making sure nobody was hiding.

One last man had climbed out of the Jeep. This was presumably the commanding officer. He was unusually tall for a Cambodian with a long, slender neck and black hair down to his shoulders; Tony heard one of the soldiers refer to him as _kolonel_. Slowly he made his way towards the them.

The colonel approached Tony and shouted something at him in Cambodian. Tony blinked, unsure of what to say, when the colonel changed tactics. With a heavy accent, he said, in English, "Identification".

Tony fumbled in his pockets before pulling out his NCIS badge and ID. The colonel took it and studied it briefly and hesitated slightly. Then suddenly the man struck out, hitting Tony on both sides of the face with the offending document and yelled to his soldiers in Cambodian. Two soldiers appeared from nowhere, pinning Tony's arms behind his back and forcing him to his knees. The barrel of a sub-machine gun was pressed into his neck.

Ziva let out a cry of protest as she saw her partner being manhandled. The colonel simply ignored her.

"What purpose does NCIS have in being here?" he questioned the senior agent.

Tony, slightly dazed from the sudden attack, blinked up at the Cambodian, before James butted in, "We do you no harm, we are here for an investigation. Now if you would just let us be on our way, we would…"

In a flash, the colonel pulled out his rifle and slammed the butt of it down on the Lieutenants head. James fell to the ground unconscious, the colonel schooled his angered features before turning to talk, once again, to the remaining americans, "I don't really care what NCIS is doing here, I just know that you shouldn't be here. We are the Khmer Rouge and we don't take kindly to trespassers. You are trespassers, and do you want to know what we do with trespassers?" he questioned before nodding to the soldier to the left of him.

The soldier in question raised his sub-machine gun and proceeded to fire it at the Major. Tony and Ziva gasped as Major Laine fell to the earth, a single gunshot wound to the head, he was dead before he hit the ground.

The colonel smiled maniacally at the two NCIS agents and Tony was forced to swallow the bile that was threatening to spill out of his mouth as he smelt the blood and sweat that emanated from the man.

The colonel suddenly turned and shouted something in Cambodian and Tony felt himself being dragged once more into a standing position and was marched towards the back of the Jeep before being flung unceremoniously into the back. Moments later he was joined by Ziva and the unconscious Lieutenant James.

Dusting off herself Ziva turned to Tony, "Are you alright?" she asked anxiously.

"I'm doing just peachy" he replied, "how you about you?"

"Fine" said Ziva, "but we need to figure out a means of escape, we cannot stay with these men Tony they will kill us. James is already down and despite what Laine said, I don't think these guys are military."

Tony sighed, "Well yeah, I kind of guessed that after the Major was killed" he said, "I've heard of these sorts of guerilla groups. The leader guy, the '_kolonel'_, he said something about being the Khmer Rouge. Aren't they some government rebellion group? Maybe they're tied to the murders of Captains' Hodge and Tobin, what do you think?"

"I don't know" said Ziva, talking fast, "and I don't really care, all I know is that we have to get out of here and fast! I heard them talking, Tony, they want us for information on American military activity and once they find that we have none, they will, without a doubt, kill us!"

And with that, the soldiers clambered back into the jeep, and the roar of the engine filled the night air as the vehicle took off into the Cambodian jungle. As they rode away from the campsite, Tony caught a glimpse of the leg of the dead Major, half concealed in the bushes.

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_A big thankyou to everyone who has reviewed, favourited or added my story to their alerts!!!! You guys are amazing:)  
__sooo, now the story is moving along i think it is time to ask the big question on everyones minds...should i just have tony/ziva friendship? or tiva? you decide!_

_**please review** and tell me your thoughts, love you all=D_


	4. Chapter 4

Tony jerked his head up to find Ziva's eyes on him, beside him lay Lieutenant James still unconscious, _Dammit, must of fallen asleep_, he thought to himself. Tony found that his hands were tied behind his back, looking around he found that Ziva and James' were in a similar predicament.

Ziva caught onto Tony's thoughts, "They did that while you were sleeping" she said.

Tony nodded, "How long have I been out" he asked Ziva.

"Not long. It is almost dawn; we have been driving for almost two hours now"

Tony sighed, "Cambodia sucks, what happened to all the hot babes you see on Globe Trekker and the great food? I'm starving man; I'm never going on assignment again!" Ziva rolled her eyes, _he could be so immature_!

"Hey!" Tony yelled out to one of the soldiers seated not too far from him, "do you know where we can get some fried dumpling or maybe some rice because my partner and I are rea - ..."

Tony was cut off by the sight of the barrel of a machine gun in his face, "Shut up you American scum, or your girlfriend here will get it!" seethed the soldier waving his sub-machine gun in Ziva's direction.

Tony gulped in response and was about to lay his head back on the floor of the Jeep once more when the vehicle stopped abruptly throwing him into the seat in front of him. Rubbing his head, Tony sat up.

Looking out at his surroundings, he found that they were currently situated on a bridge that stood high above a roaring river. From this angle, Tony could see the colonel stepping out of the Jeep accompanied by two soldiers. They were all shouting loudly at each other in Cambodian, issuing orders and Tony was sure that he could pick up the words NCIS amongst the soldiers' screams.

Tony looked at Ziva, "The Bridge is broken, there is a gap over the river…we cannot cross it safely…they are wondering what to do with us" she murmured to him quietly, pausing occasionally do decipher what the men were saying as she stared at the shouting soldiers. Sure enough, as Tony peeked out from the side of the Jeep he could see that the old wooden bridge they were settled on and the large gaping hole in the center of it. A surge of water had apparently, sometime in the recent past, come by and removed the centre section of the wooden crossing. In the space, Tony could see a raging river complete with white rapids.

The Italian could see the colonel, accompanied by his soldiers, arguing over what no doubt would be the best way to cross the river safely; their shouts echoing across the valley.

Tony heard a pained groan and looked down to find the Lieutenant stirring in response to the noise around him.

"What…where..?" James ground out as his eyes fluttered open, taking in his surroundings. Then suddenly, awareness washed over the Lieutenant, and he sat up with a start, peering over the side of the jeep to steal a glance at the problem ahead of them.

The Lieutenant swore under his breath, "Shit!"

"What is it? What's wrong?" Ziva asked anxiously, worried by the Lieutenants paling face.

James swallowed before continuing, "This…this river marks the boundary between the territory held by the Government and that of the Khmer Rouge Rebels. Once we pass here, we are screwed."

"But," Tony said, "the marines stationed at base camp, they can storm the Cambodian territory once they get wind of our situation, Ziva and I have tracking devices in our watches surely…"

James interrupted shaking his head, "once we reach Khmer Rouge territory the marines will make no attempt to get us back. The American military will not risk Cambodian alliance for the lives of two NCIS agents and a First Lieutenant. Until we cross the river, however, these soldiers can be attacked by the marines at any moment. That's why they are so nervous; they are going to order - …"

Before the Lieutenant could continue however, more orders were shouted, and two soldiers came forward and grabbed the three Americans. The agents stumbled down from the back of the jeep, one by one, and stood in a little group on the side of the remaining bridge. The soldiers prodded Tony, Ziva and James with rifles to get them into single file and marched them towards the edge of the gap in the bridge where the colonel was standing. Tony could see the gap better as he approached it and gulped as he realized the little dark spots in the river were boulders incompletely submerged by the water.

"As you can see," the colonel started, turning towards the trio, "the bridge to our encampment has been damaged and we are unable to cross the river. It will be difficult, but we need to find a way to…"

As the colonel talked, Tony could see Ziva working at her hands, trying to untie them, out of the corner of his eye. Seeing this, Tony followed, nudging Lieutenant James to do the same.

"…in the hope that you would cooperate on the grounds of military activity. However…"

Tony absent mindedly nodded as the colonel continued his speech, catching only snippets of the conversation before concentrating once more on his bound hands; looking briefly to his left, he found that Ziva was already free and was subtly helping Lieutenant James to untie himself.

"…we stick true to our motto; to keep you is no benefit…to destroy is no loss." The colonel paused slightly as he collected his thoughts.

At that moment, three things happened.

It began to rain. What had before been a light trickle was now torrential, bucketing down on the agents and soldiers.

Second of all, Tony finally managed to get his hands free.

And third; Ziva lashed out at the soldier that was holding the three of them in line, kicking him in the gut. The soldier stumbled and accidently pulled the trigger of his sub-machine gun, letting loose a round into the cold night air.

Amongst the confusion…chaos broke out on the bridge.

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_Once again thanks to alll the reviews, you guys are awesome and i reallly appreciate the feedback. As for having tiva or not - you will have to wait and see:) hehe_

_Also, updating may take a little longer due to my yearly exams coming up in a week or two:( which sux.....  
but i will try and after that i am a free woman and will try and update as fast as i possibly can!!!_

_please please please review:) it will make my day brighter and thus encourage me to write faster!!!! thanks xxx_


	5. Chapter 5

The bridge had turned into a war zone. The soldier who Ziva had kicked down had accidently shot a round through the lights of the Jeep and the bridge was is near total darkness. The Cambodian soldiers were confused, screaming orders and waving about their guns and rifles, firing off shots at random.

The colonel began issuing orders, switching from English to Cambodian as he went, "_karsmoab, _where are the Americans, _karsmoab ahk amesoakh, _find the Americans!"

"Tony! The river! Jump in the river!" squinting through the heavy rain, Tony turned, just making out Ziva in the little light the rising sun was providing them. She was screaming at him whilst pulling at Lieutenant James, both of them running towards the gap in the bridge.

With a horrible lurch of his stomach, Tony saw the colonel's eyes follow Ziva and James, Tony saw him begin to unsling his rifle from across his back. Tony ran straight for him. The colonel was bringing the rifle up so quickly Tony thought he would be able to fire it right into his stomach at point-blank range.

The senior agent covered the last three meters in a frantic dive, not having any idea of what he was going to do, just desperate to stop the colonel from pulling the trigger. Tony hit the man square in the chest with his head. Tony felt the hard impact, pain exploded in his head and he felt his neck jar with the force of the collision, but above that Tony felt relief as the colonel fell backwards. He hadn't been able to fire. Tony was all over him as the man fell, but, to his horror, both men kept falling. The Italian realized that they'd both gone over the side of the bridge and were now falling through the air towards the river below.

Tony heard a choking scream and realized it was the colonel, there was a volley of shots right next to his head. His rifle was firing. Suddenly the colonel stopped screaming and struggling against him, and Tony felt warm liquid against his face, with a sigh of relief Tony realized that the colonel had shot himself as his rifle went off.

However, this relief was short-lived, as a new pain flared through his body. He had hit the water. It felt like concrete: Tony hit it with his shoulder and heard a distinct crack as his left collar bone gave way. Letting out a silent scream under the water, Tony struggled to swim to the surface, using all his strength to fight the rapids and avoid the many boulders looming towards him.

He surfaced, shivering as he did so – _it was damn cold_. Looking up he saw Ziva and James both enter the water in a perfect racing dive. "Bastards" Tony thought, jealous of them for having such an easy passage.

The senior agent struggled against the current for a moment before swimming awkwardly towards them, trying to ignore the pain emanating from his broken collar bone. As Tony got within two meters of Ziva and the Lieutenant there was a sudden spitting and foaming of water in a long line to his left. Tony shivered, instantly thinking of alligators and water snakes.

"What is it?" Tony yelled at Ziva. For a moment she looked shocked and confused. Then she took a funny sort of backward stroke, as if he'd slapped her in the face.

"Bullets!" she screamed. Her voice sounded thick and muffled through Tony's deafened ears.

"Go under!" James yelled, and disappeared beneath the surface.

Tony glanced at Ziva and nodded. Momentarily forgetting the pain in his shoulder, _adrenaline could work wonders;_ Tony gasped at some air before disappearing under the water, letting the water's current carry him away from the bridge and in doing so, the angry Khmer Rouge soldiers.

* * *

Gibbs sat in MTAC anxiously awaiting his video conference with the head General at the marine base camp in Cambodia. He had recently received a call from Vance saying that their meeting would be pushed forward to today instead of in two days time due to 'certain circumstances in the field'.

_Certain circumstances in the field_, Gibbs molded the statement over in his mind along with the consequences those words may bring to the table as he tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut. He knew of the risks in Cambodia and the mission his agents were undertaking that was operating on the steps of near suicidal. However, Vance had come through, making sure that the agents were accompanied by two fully-qualified marines at all times. However, this assertion did little to reassure his churning gut.

Gibbs was somewhat pissed at the Directors decision to leave him behind at NCIS headquarters whilst two of his best agents were sent into a foreign country. He clenched his fists at the thought of anything happening to his team, whether it be a concussion or death, he would be back for vengeance.

Special Agent Gibbs stood suddenly to attention as the static on the screen dissolved into the face of General Lowell.

"Ah Agent Gibbs," the General observed, "How are ya Gunny?"

"Where are my agents General?" Gibbs said, ignoring the Generals question, anxious to talk to Tony and Ziva.

"Straight to the point I see," muttered the General. He shifted nervously in his chair, and sighed slightly before replying, "where are you agents? Well that's the question we've been asking ourselves for the past six hours. It seems as if their tracking devices have stopped working and we have long since lost their signal. Since then, we have been trying to contact our accompanying marines through their transmitting radios, but either they have no signal or unable to contact us, as so far they have been unresponsive."

Gibbs fumed at the General's words, "Unresponsive? UNRESPONSIVE? My agents are missing and could potentially be injured or kidnapped and all you've been doing is playing with your toy radios!?! Do you have any idea what - ..."

The General cut the Agent off before he could start sending death threats, "We have been doing everything we possibly can Agent Gibbs. We just recently sent out some rescue and recovery teams to your agents last known position and they should be reporting back," the General looked at his watch, "well now. You must understand that we are doing everything we can over here but we cannot start any full-scale rescue procedures until they have been missing for over 36 hours. Listen Gibbs, I'm sure your agents are fine."

As the General talked, a young marine walked in and gave the man a piece of paper. Looking down, the General quickly scanned the message, his eyes widening and face paling as he did so. Gibbs gut was practically doing black flips, "Well?" he asked gruffly, anxious to find what could be written on that piece of paper that could provoke such a reaction in the senior marine.

"It...It says," stuttered the General, looking up to face Gibbs once more, "they found Major Laine, one of the marines accompanying your agents." He paused slightly, "he's dead. Murdered, a bullet to the head…execution style."

Gibbs stood there for a moment, trying to take in the horrifying news he had just received before storming out of MTAC, his eyes blazing with such ferocity that it stopped even the bravest of agents to dare to call him back to the video conference.

Marching down the stairs to the bullpen, Gibbs barked at his junior field agent, "McGee! Go home and pack your bags; and you better be quick about it if you and I are gonna be boarding the next flight to Cambodia."

* * *

_Okay, well I decided to bring Gibbs and McGee back into the picture because what good fanfic doesn't include the whole of team Gibbs right? Sorry about the really crappy 'reflective gibbs' moment there, but it needed to be there and im sorry cause im really bad at all that descriptive stuff, but hopefully it worked for you guys:P_

_Well the story is starting to become more interesting now so I hope you are all enjoying it:) updates will be slightly slower due to exams, sorry, but thats how it is...  
thanks to all my reviewers, you keep me going...the more i get the quicker i update...*hint hint*nudge nudge* please review, haha love you allllll xxxxx_


	6. Chapter 6

Freezing cold

Wet

Water pushing in from all sides

Heaving lungs trying to push in air

Boulder, charging rapids

Pain, unconsciousness

* * *

Ziva rolled onto her side, panting slightly from her rough trip downstream. She lifted her head and scanned the rising sun. She remembered seeing Lieutenant James being carried off downstream and caught a glimpse of Tony being bashed around the rocks a little further down after she found her feet from under herself and crawled onto the bank. Orienting herself as best as she could, Ziva hauled herself up, _Downstream_, she thought and Ziva made her decision to move.

The Mossad Officer was soaked to the skin and shivering but she pushed herself to take the first few steps in the promise that she would dry out as she hiked downstream with the aid of the rising sun.

* * *

Tony felt like he'd been beaten with truncheons on every inch of his body. He had so many aches and pains that he didn't know which part of himself to feel sorry for first. At first, Tony had no idea what had happened, what was wrong with him; but then the images came flooding back to him: _landmines, Khmer rouge, a dead Major, a broken bridge, kolonel, gunfire, a river, rapids, rocks, Lieutenant James, Ziva…_ZIVA!!!

Tony hauled himself up onto all fours, using a small tree trunk to get on his feet. Moaning as the pain in his broken collar bone announced itself; Tony tried to ignore it as he searched the surrounding area for the Mossad Agent. The Italian hung on to the tree, willing himself to find some energy before falling back down onto all fours, unable to stand without feeling sick and dizzy. The pain and cold was unbearable, and, letting out an agonizing groan, Tony collapsed back onto the ground unconscious.

* * *

The Mossad Officer had been walking downstream for almost 15 minutes when she heard it. Someone was moving in the brush, somewhere upstream from where she stood. _The Khmer Rouge, they've found me again?_ Possibly, Ziva thought, although she doubted it. This someone was by themselves and moving around too loudly to be one of the strict and well-trained soldiers that had been on the bridge.

Ziva pulled out her knife all the same and crouched down, silently creeping towards the source of the noise when that someone let out an agonized groan that sounded suspiciously like –

"Tony?" Ziva wondered aloud, discarding her knife, she raced out from under the cover of the trees to the bank of the still roaring river to find a figure with dark hair, lying face down on the jungle floor.

* * *

Lieutenant James brushed off an assortment of twigs, mud and bugs that had caught onto him during his rough plight downstream before walking briskly towards the two agents on the bank; one crouched, one still on the ground, and pulled out his satellite phone…_finally…_

* * *

_SORRY SORRY SORRY!!! i know its been such a long time since i have updated but i've finally finished all my exams and assignments and should be able to update more regularly:)  
__this is a reallly bad chapter, sorry, but i wrote it in about 10 mins cos i thought that i needed to publish something before all you guys gave up on me haha!_

_hope you enjoyed it...**please review** and suggest any ideas as im in a bit of writers block:) thanks to my reviewers soo far you are alll amazing!!!!!!!!!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry its late!!!!_

* * *

Ziva ran forward to the senior field agent, fear coursing through her veins. From the time it took for her to reach him, Tony didn't move at all. From her position, Ziva could only see the right half of his face but most of that was hidden behind streaks of blood and bruising.

Fearfully, the Mossad Officer checked for any signs of movement but it wasn't until she could almost touch the agent that she saw the slightest twitch of his facial muscles. Bending down Ziva put her hand gently down to Tony's neck and held her breath until she found a pulse, although, it beat against her fingers at a steady rate. Under her hand, Tony stirred slightly and attempted to roll over onto his back, a movement he quickly aborted as the pain in his shoulder and ribs became evident and he let out a low moan.

"Hey there, just stay still" Ziva murmured brushing the hair out of his eyes, "You with me Tony?"

As if in response, the Italian eased himself onto his back and opened green eyes, "Ziva?"

The whispered reply was like music to Ziva's ears, "You okay?"

"I'm good" Tony ground out, the lines of pain evident on his face.

"I can see that" Ziva replied sarcastically, looking over the man with a critical eye, "I take it that is apart from the broken collar bone and concussion?"

"Ah well, I think you can add busted rib to that list as well" Tony admitted, "But I can walk, once I manage to get to my feet."

"Oh is that right?" Ziva said raising an eyebrow, "I am sure that you are, what is it, as fit as a violin?"

"We should get going; we need to find Lieutenant James, don't we?

Ziva nodded in reply, frowning slightly as Tony made no attempt at correcting her obviously mistaken idiom.

"Tony, are you sure you are o-"But she was cut off for at that moment, Lieutenant James came stumbling forward to the pair.

"There you two are!" He exclaimed, "I've been looking all over for you. I think we need to get going before nightfall, I found a track that I'm almost sure leads back to the marine base camp" The Lieutenant said, smiling at the two NCIS agents.

"Very well, but that can wait, can you not see that Tony here is hurt; besides, it will not be nightfall for at least another 7 hours." Ziva retorted.

"Don't mind Ziva, I'm fine, see" Tony said as he got to his feet, however his body betrayed him as his vision blurred; swaying, he was forced to brace himself against a nearby tree as the pain in his body overwhelmed him.

"There, the man said it himself, he is FINE. Now, let's get going." Lieutenant said, his smile fading slightly as his tone became more abrupt.

"No" Ziva near shouted back, "He is obviously hurting, we cannot simply runoff and expect him to catch-up with us" she said, moving closer to the Lieutenant, fire dancing in her dark eyes.

"What is your problem lady? Think about, if we get going now, by nightfall we will be back at the camp safely and your friend here can be treated and you can both go home. So quit your yakking at get going"

"But" Ziva was cut off as the Lieutenant struck her across the face with the back of his hand.

"Hey!" yelled an ailing Dinozzo, "what was that for?"

Any anger that was visible on the Lieutenants face quickly vanished, clasping his hand he said, "Sorry Officer David, I…I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. It's just; I really insist that we do get going"

"Fine," Ziva replied unconvinced, eyes watering from the unexpected slap to the face, "Just give me a minute while I help Tony."

* * *

McGee sat silently watching his Boss opposite; the man was currently radiating a strange and dangerous combination of fear and anger. There was still no word about the whereabouts of his agents, and the rescue teams had yet to find anything to aid in the investigation. The General was tempted to call off the search for the meantime before the Lieutenant accompanying his agents made any contact with the base camp. It had taken several phone calls to various heads of federal agencies and one very long and painful conversation with Director Vance before Gibbs had managed to get a search helicopter to help find Ziva and Dinozzo.

So now McGee and Boss were seated in a search helicopter scanning the Cambodian jungle. They had been flying for a couple of hours and the sun would be setting soon, making the two NCIS agents nervous. He wasn't going to give up the search at night but the chopper would need to return to the base camp soon to refuel. His gut was telling him that they needed to find Tony and Ziva. Soon.

And then a cry, "There!"

* * *

Their progress was torturous. It soon became apparent that Tony was ailing and becoming lightheaded as the pain in his shoulder, ribs and head throbbed. Ziva was supporting Tony, following a quickly moving Lieutenant, the pair barely keeping up. The senior field agent was very weak and in pain, but he tried to walk on his own power.

"Ziva," Tony's voice was alarmingly weak, "I have to stop." His face was red and he was sweating profusely.

"We can't stop, we must keep going." Replied James, not turning around to speak.

"But" For the third time that day, Ziva was cut off by the Lieutenant.

"We are almost there, he's just gotta tough it out. If Agent Dinozzo was in the Marines he'd be keeping his head down and his mouth shut."

Ziva bit back a retort that contained several Hebrew swear words, and instead turned back to Tony, "We're almost there Tony." Ziva continued, pulling Tony along, "Just a little bit further. You can do it."

The senior field agent only nodded in response. But it was only several steps later when Tony went limp, eyes rolled back in his head. Ziva stumbled under the dead weight, but regained her balance and managed to lower her partner gently to the ground. So much for Dinozzos don't pass out, Ziva thought.

"Lieutenant, for goodness sake, stop power walking and get back here and help!" Ziva shouted to marine, who at this point, was almost out of eyesight. The Mossad Officer was getting worried, her partner was obviously seriously injured and unable to do much at the moment and the marine accompanying her was becoming very suspicious. The Lieutenant hadn't spoken much since they had departed and had become almost frantic in getting back to the base camp as soon as possible.

Said Lieutenant was soon standing over Ziva, who was in turn kneeling over a semi-conscious Dinozzo. "Hurry up and wake the man up so we can keep going."

Ziva nodded, too worried about her partner to come up with a retort in reply to the marines harsh tone. She began lightly tapping her hand against Tony's cheek in an attempt to get the agent to come around. "Tony, hey can you hear me? Come on Dinozzo wake up" she said, breathing a small sigh of relief as the Italian's head lolled slightly side to side trying to find his bearings, moaning lightly as in response to the pain coursing throughout his body.

"Finally, now let's get going." Said the Lieutenant briskly.

"Just hold on now, you are not in charge of us, we will not…"

The Lieutenant and Ziva's words washed over him as Tony tried to make sense of his surroundings. Blinking furiously, the Italian tried to understand the words being said and the reasoning behind the anger in the voices. He soon became aware of a presence beside him, turning his aching head he spotted Ziva kneeling beside him, her hand resting on his shoulder. Watching her, Tony could see the Mossad Officers face growing redder and redder and anger emanated from her body.

Tony closed his eyes briefly as the two raised their voices to a level that his head couldn't cope with and suddenly Ziva was gone from his side and standing inches from the Lieutenants face.

"What is the rush hey? Can you not see he is injured?"

The Lieutenants once cocky smile had vanished and his face now wore a snarl, "Shut up, just shut up"

"Why?" Ziva questioned, "What are you hiding?"

"God dammit, just shut up whore" The Lieutenant screamed.

There was a moment of silence before Ziva ran towards the marine, bowling him over. The two stood back up, recovering quickly and Ziva was about to attack once more, before the marine reached into his back pocket and pulled out a gun. Ziva stilled at once, backing away slowly so she made a barrier between herself and Tony.

"Not so brave now are we bitch?" screamed the Marine, sweat dripped from the marines hair and he smiled maniacally, "Now you will both do as I say or I'll shoot both of ya"

* * *

_Okay guys you have no idea how sorry I am!!!! There was just a lot of family dramas etc. and then i totally forgot about it and I went on My Docs and found this. So excuse the poor chapter, I wrote it in about 20 mins and i tried to make it a bit longer than usual. Its a very rushed storyline - but don't worry I'll clear up everything in the next chapter what with everything on Lieutenant James, cos im sure a few ppl are confused. But yeah...a little foul play there by the Lieutenant. Also, I'm gonna try and put more gibbs and mcgee in - i dunno give me ur suggestions on the story cos i kinda have a bit of writers block and need some ideas. but I will try and update asap_

_As usual...please please please review. They actually do make me write faster...like not just saying it:) lol. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!_


	8. Chapter 8

"There" Gibbs shouted, spotting three figures on the ground below, situated in a small clearing amongst the thick Cambodian Jungle. Even from this height, the ex-marine could make out the distinct features of his two agents.

"I'm sorry sir, but we can't touch down here, the jungle is too thick and we can't promise a safe landing," stuttered the Pilot, aware of Gibbs glowering at him, recovering quickly he promised, "Don't worry, there is a larger clearing less than 1km away that we can land safely in, from there you can make it on foot to your men."

Gibbs opened his mouth to argue, however, realizing there was nothing he could do, closed it. The mood inside the helicopter had become even tenser as Gibbs and McGee headed towards the landing site. Although Gibbs had spotted his agents, he was unaware of their conditions, and if the painful twinge in his gut was anything to go by, he could all but pray that this would be a rescue rather than a retrieval of two young agents' bodies.

The Captain waved to a clearing below, indicating he was going to land there. When they were on the ground, Gibbs and McGee checked their weapons and supplies. They were bringing water and some medical supplies – anticipating that his agents would need some care before they could hike back to the base, _if_ they could hike back. They also had a portable stretcher, in case they needed to carry anyone back. Two other marines would be coming as their back-up.

"Ready?" Gibbs looked expectantly at the others.

"Ready," replied McGee, slinging his back-up rifle over his shoulder. The other marines indicated that they too were ready.

* * *

Ziva backed up against the tree that her injured partner now sat against, her heart rate quickened as her Mossad training kicked in. She sized up her opponent and she had to admit, the odds weren't looking too good: a healthy, strong, gun-wielding marine against two weaponless NCIS agents, one of which in no shape to fight, let alone stand on his own two feet.

"Good, now that you two understand who the boss is here, I'm sure you'll both be more cooperative"

Neither agent said anything.

"You know, when I was told that you too were coming to investigate, I'd thought that you were to be shot by the Khmer Rouge within seconds. But now well," James shook his head, "I'm glad I was wrong. What a pleasure it is to be able to commit the crime by my own very hands. I have to admit though; it's really quite a shame that we have to depart in such circumstances."

"Why is that?" Ziva said.

"Because it means that today someone will be dying."

"My sympathies to your family then," Tony said, speaking for the first time.

"Aha!" the Lieutenant said, "Some fight eh? Maybe I should have made this a bit more clear, today, you will two will both die and there is nothing either of you can do about it."

Ziva and Tony, again, were both silent.

"You know you really shouldn't be blaming me for this predicament. If it wasn't for Captains Hodge and Tobin snooping around you two wouldn't have to be here."

"How did you do it?" Ziva asked, desperately trying to buy time.

"It was quite simple really. Setting the two on assignment in an area loaded heavily with landmines from the war, all I had to do was force them to walk into the restricted area and, "he paused, a smile playing on the corners of his mouth, "KABOOM! It was all over." The smile faded slightly as the marines tone sharpened, "until NCIS had to come along and ruin all our fun."

"But why? What were you hiding? What did Hodge and Tobin find out?"

James stopped pacing and turned to address the two NCIS agents, "The Navy hasn't been good to me, to put it lightly. They have offered me nothing but dead friends, poor wages and a shithouse life in bloody Cambodia. However, my alliance with the Khmer Rouge has provided me everything, through my arms dealing, the Khmer Rouge has offered me everything. 500, 000 for every deal I make. And now, all I have to do, to make everything perfect, is to kill you."

"But that won't do anything," Tony said, "Once our boss finds are dead bodies, he'll come after you. Trust me he's one bastard you won't want to mess with."

"No!" the marine shouted, frustration becoming evident on his face, "Shut Up! I'm doing this because I am a hero to the people of Cambodia; the Khmer Rouge is trying to help the people fight back against the cruelty of the government, and I'm helping them to achieve that! God dammit I'm a hero!"

With that, Lieutenant James raised his gun once more and fired a round at the two NCIS agents.

But not before Ziva, shoving Dinozzo aside launched herself across the room, tackling James hard, driving him against the trunk of a tree. The Lieutenants back slammed into tree and the marine's vision grew blurry before Ziva threw him to the floor.

Seeing the Lieutenant dazed, Ziva picked herself off the floor, noticing that Tony had hidden himself from the line of fire, behind a nearby boulder; she moved to do the same. However, her jou rney was cut short as a splay of bullets cut into the tree line behind her, a splay of bullets that managed to cut through her arm.

Ziva stifled a scream, she clenched her teeth and saw the trickle of blood seep between her fingers. It didn't look very deep, in fact the bullet had only managed to scratch the edge of her upper left arm and yet the pain was still unbearable.

She crawled desperately towards the nearest rock in the hope that it could offer her some shelter to rest before the marine wielded his gun against her once more. A snail-trail of her blood stained the jungle floor behind her, betraying her path. James having grabbed the gun and let loose a few shots, stood quickly, scanning the tree line through the barrel of his gun.

Neither Agent was anywhere to be seen.

The Lieutenant saw the slight trail of blood on the floor, leading off to the right, around and behind a large rock.

James followed the trail of blood. He quickly came around the rock and let rip with a burst of gunfire. He hit nothing. Ziva wasn't there. The marine spun, _where the hell was she?_

Ziva saw Lieutenant James come back around the rock and catch sight of her. She was now sitting on the floor of the jungle, clutching at her arm. It had taken a lot of strength to get to her feet and run back to the left-hand side of the rock without spilling any more blood before James had emerged. She had actually intended to run towards where Tony was hidden, but decided against it last minute, in fear of endangering her partner, before James had found her.

The Lieutenant smiled and walked slowly over to her. He stood in front of her.

"You are a complete son of a bitch, you know that," Ziva said.

James shrugged.

"You do not need to do this, the Khmer Rouge will not reward you for this, to them you are nothing but a bargaining chip for arms dealing" Ziva said, frantically trying to buy time as she searched desperately for a plan.

"The Khmer Rouge has done much more for me than the American military, not only that but I have offered them everything they could want. Besides, I'm doing you a favor, much better to die at my hands than through the torturous doings of the Khmer Rouge. To spare you would cause you more pain than for me to just simply pull the trigger now."

Ziva looked the marine right in the eye. "Do your worst." She spat.

Lieutenant James raised his gun and aimed to fire.

Behind his boulder, Tony searched desperately for some sort of weapon. He knew Ziva was in danger, so Tony had to settle for a nearby rock, sharp enough to inflict some damage if thrown in the correct place. Now he just had to wait for the right moment.

In the end he almost missed it, Lieutenant James had obviously become tired of the cat and mouse game and Tony barely made it to his knees as he heard the sharp crack of the gun being cocked over the blood rushing in his ears. Desperately he raised his good arm, took aim and threw in one smooth motion.

The Lieutenant's shot went wide as the rock hit him squarely in the head; however, although the blow was hard, the gun was still in James' hand and the man was still conscious.

Frantically Tony forced himself forwards, stumbling into the clearing as his battered body refused to co-operate. The only thought that was going through his head was that he had to reach James before he could fire again. His vision narrowed, focused only on the gun in the marines hand and the look in his eyes. He saw the moment the man's focus shifted to him, saw his arm move, finger tightening on the trigger and knew that he wouldn't reach him in time. Almost without conscious thought, he tensed ready to throw himself sideways, praying that he had the energy.

* * *

Moving steadily through the jungle, Gibbs, McGee and the accompanying marines found themselves nearing a clearing. Motioning for quiet, Gibbs edged closer, peering out to observe the situation.

Almost immediately he spotted Ziva, crouched and bleeding, facing someone, who Gibbs could only assume to be Lieutenant James. Gibbs was yet to spot Tony.

As the 4 men watched on, they witnessed the crazed marine, wielding his gun and talking to Ziva, who merely looked on calmly. It was not until the marine raised his gun to shoot that the men took action. But not before Tony, although looking unstable, lurched forward towards the Lieutenant in an attempt to stop the man from killing his partner. Gibbs watched as the marine shifted his gaze and turned to take aim at his senior field agent.

Realizing what was happening; Gibbs stepped out from behind the safety of the tree line, and hoped desperately that the marine would obey his shouted command:

"NCIS, freeze!"

* * *

_Hope you enjoyed the chapter:) I am trying to make them longer, but it doesn't seem to be working haha!_

_As always, thanks to all my reviewers! Suggestions are welcome and please please **please **review!!! Happy New Year to everyone :D_


	9. Chapter 9

"NCIS Freeze"

Gibbs barked stepping out from the safety of the treeline. However the Lieutenant seemed unfazed by the command, showing no sign of backing down as he fired a round at Dinozzo…the senior field agent went down and didn't move.

Without hesitating, Gibbs double tapped the marine in the chest, killing him instantly, before racing over to his prone senior field agent.

As he did so, someone brushed against Gibbs' arm and he looked over to find McGee looking dazed and shocked at the scene before him. Catching Tim by the sleeve, Gibbs pulled the younger agent back calling out, "McGee, check on Ziva."

Seeing McGee race to Ziva's side, Gibbs continued forward and skidded to a stop at Tony's side, sinking to his knees. The man was unmoving and for a moment, he feared the worst.

Gibbs pressed his fingers shakily against the pulse point on Tony's neck. For a moment he couldn't feel anything, but then the position of his fingers shifted, and it was there. A steady strum against his fingers, a sign that Tony still remained in the land of the living.

Reluctant to jostle Dinozzo when he was clueless of the man's injuries, but needing further proof that Tony was alright, Gibbs turned his agent over slowly. He breathed a sigh of relief as he spotted no blood on the agent's body but grimaced almost immediately after, as he made out the grotesque shape of Tony's shoulder partially hidden beneath his ripped and bloody shirt.

In reaction to Gibbs lightly probing his shoulder, Tony groaned and attempted to move away from the source of the pain. Gibbs gently held him still, trying to make sure he didn't injure himself further.

"Easy, Tony. Relax, it's just me," Gibbs spoke calmly, not wanting to startle him.

Tony blinked his eyes several times before he focused on Gibbs. "Boss?"

"You really need to take better care of yourself, Dinozzo," Gibbs said casually.

"Huh?" Tony blinked several more times and it was clear that he had no idea what Gibbs was talking about.

Gibbs opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped as Tony coughed suddenly, a wet rasping cough that told the ex-marine that this was going to merit a call to Dr. Brad Pitt, at the very least.

"Ziva?" Tony manages to get out, his voice raw from the recent coughing fit.

Of course Tony's first priority would be his teammate.

"She was shot – but she's going to be fine" Gibbs didn't know that for sure, but he needed to keep Tony land-locked long enough to assess his agent's health; and reassuring him was the best way to achieve that.

"Everybody else" asked Tony wearily.

"Fine, Tony. They're going to be fine." Gibbs said, recognizing the use of his agent's first name as an indicator of how concerned he was for the man he considered to be a son, "Everyone's alright. Are you?"

"Yeah," Tony replied off the bat, refusing to give in to his first instinct to say that he was 'fine', he'd been running on instincts alone for enough hours now. He hesitated a second before clarifying, "something like that".

Out of habit, Tony moved to raise his left arm to pinch the bridge of his nose in a subconscious gesture to still his throbbing headache only to encounter an explosion of pain emanating from his injured shoulder.

Letting loose a shout of pain, Tony breathed through his nose in an attempt to lessen the agony in his battered body. Gibbs simply squeezed Tony's hand, offering support for the young agent and looked around to see how his other agent, Ziva, was doing.

He spotted McGee crouched next to Ziva on the opposite side of the clearing. From where he was situated, Gibbs could see that his youngest agent had managed to stop the worst of the blood flow and that Ziva was up and alert.

Suddenly, Gibbs felt a hand on his shoulder and turned quickly, his hand reaching for his Sig.

"Sorry Sir, I didn't mean to startle you, but it really is advised that we leave now before it gets dark. The Khmer Rouge soldiers are still out there, and there is a strong possibility that they have picked up our presence." Gibbs sighed as he realized that it was simply a young marine.

Nodding his head, Gibbs replied, "Certainly marine, if I could just get a sling and some bandages for my agents, then we can get going."

* * *

By the time Gibbs had finished with the first aid kit, Tony had his injured shoulder taped and his arm was braced against his chest in a sling while Ziva wore a bandage around her upper arm stemming the bleeding wound.

The Mossad Officer, although having been shot, had enough strength in her body to stand and walk the rest of the way to the chopper. Tony, on the other hand, was still weak and was having trouble sitting up, let alone standing.

"Tony, do you think you can walk, if we help you?" questioned Gibbs.

"I don't know," replied Tony weakly, "I'll try…I'm not feeling too good though…"

"It's all right Dinozzo, we'll help you. We'll carry you, if need be."

"We have to keep moving sir," one of the marines said, speaking up, "The Khmer Rouge could be upon us at any minute and we won't be able to hold them off for long if a battle occurs."

"Come on then," urged Gibbs, as he pulled Tony to his feet. He slid the Italians arm over his shoulders, taking on some of his weight while McGee moved forward to Ziva to do the same. The four of them began to head through the jungle, just as the dim sounds of gunfire and the Cambodian language could be heard from the clearing they had, moment before, occupied.

The Khmer Rouge was now upon them.

"Cover our backs" said McGee to the two marines behind them, and they dropped away, clutching their automatic rifles.

"Geez Dinozzo," grinned Gibbs, "you sure do get in a lot of trouble."

"Sorry Boss." Tony couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"Come on," Gibbs pulled him along, "You can tell me what the hell happened here later."

The small group moved as quickly as possible, trying to reach the clearing where the chopper was waiting, before the Khmer Rouge soldiers caught up to them. Both Tony and Ziva were breathing hard and becoming more and more dependent on their support, Gibbs and McGee; when suddenly Tony dropped unconscious, his unexpected dead weight more than Gibbs could hold, and fell to the ground.

McGee lowered Ziva to the ground before he joined Gibbs in kneeling next to the fallen agent. Tony's face was deep red and he was gasping for air, no doubt as a result from the cold air and water clogged lungs he had as a consequence of his ride down the water rapids.

"Help him McGee, and Ziva," seeing the Israeli open her mouth to argue, Gibbs continued, "Don't think that I haven't noticed that wound David." He said, before grabbing a rifle and running back in the direction that they had just come from.

"What are you doing?" Shouted McGee.

"Buying us some time.'"

Crouching down by a nearby boulder, Gibbs layed down the barrel of his rifle against the rock, he looked through the sight, waiting until he saw his target, the leader of the group, the _kolonel. _Carefully taking aim, Gibbs pulled the trigger, hitting the Cambodian in the middle of the forehead as he was yelling orders to his men. Stunned, the Khmer Rouge looked around. Carefully, Gibbs took aim again, taking another man down…and another…and one more with deadly precision before the Khmer Rouge acted. Panicked the remaining Khmer Rouge soldiers turned and ran away.

Gibbs rejoined his team along with the accompanying marines, "How is he?" he asked anxiously, "and Ziva?"

"Ziva is fine," said the Mossad Officer, "However, Tony, on the other hand…" she trailed off, looking down at her partner.

"I've managed to calm him down and his breathing is better than before," continued McGee, "We've got to get him to the chopper though so that the medic can work on him and start an IV and give him some oxygen. I think what he really needs though is a hospital Boss, and fast."

"Where's that god dammed stretcher?" Gibbs barked at the marines.

"Here" Ziva had assembled the device.

Once Tony was safely nestled on the portable stretcher, the small group broke cover from the cover of the trees and made their way across the clearing to the chopper waiting for them. Moving quickly, the NCIS agents jumped onto the helicopter, aided by the marines.

There was a collective sigh of relief once everyone had boarded the helicopter, however the mood was still tense as doctors made their way forward to the still unconscious Dinozzo and ailing David.

The medics, who introduced themselves as Mark and Scott, wasted no time in examining the two agents. Both men quickly assessed that Ziva's wound was merely a scratch and that only a few stitches would be required. Tony, however, was suffering from three cracked ribs, a broken collar bone and severe concussion along with the beginnings of a chest infection brought on by his trip down the river and exposure to the cold. The men moved swiftly as fears of a coma became present as Tony had yet to regain consciousness.

Soon enough, the medics had stabilized the agent as best they could, and moved away so Tony's teammates could take a look at the injured man. Ziva, too, stood shakily and went over to stand beside McGee as Gibbs adjusted the oxygen mask over Tony's face. The young agent's face was flushed and his breathing was labored.

"Will he make it boss?" McGee asked nervously.

"Yeah McGee," Gibbs replied, pausing before saying, "He hasn't got permission to die yet."

* * *

_Please note that I updated this chapter, i added the last little bit in about the helicopter....i was gonna leave that for the next chapter but decided against it_

_hope you enjoyed it:) i love the reviews so keep doing...im open for suggestions and trust me, reviews really make me write faster:) thanks to everyone who does review, i love you all!!!_


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